


In the Rain

by Amaranthis



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Rain, juleka shows up too but she's basically non existent oops, mostly this is light-hearted though i swear, post-reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-10-08 05:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10379736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amaranthis/pseuds/Amaranthis
Summary: “Let’s meet again. On Thursday, at the Eiffel Tower at ten,” Marinette said finally, voice muffled against his shirt. She drew back from him, tears gone and an honest smile on her face.“I’ll see you then, my lady.”





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [astrangetypeofchemistry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrangetypeofchemistry/gifts).



> alternate summary: Marinette’s model backs out on her last minute. Adrien, who hasn’t been modelling in years, steps in.
> 
> Please suspend your disbelief on how the hiring and college stuff works. I’m not even in college yet, much less a French fashion university @_@ If there’s something I got wrong, please let me know!

“Hello, am I speaking to Mlle. Dupain-Cheng?”

“Yes!” Marinette replied enthusiastically, dropping her sewing scissors (oops, she’d have to make sure she didn’t dent anything later) and turning away from her desk to cradle her phone more securely. “Is this M. Remond, Anthony’s manager?”

“Yes, I am,” the caller responded. “I’m--”

“I was just about to call you, M. Remond! I ended up taking one of the pieces out of the collection, so Anthony won’t have to stay for the entire shoot. I can still pay full price of course, but--”

“I’m sorry, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, but we received an offer to model for another brand yesterday. The shoot overlaps with the time you previously booked Anthony for. After much debate, we decided to accept the offer.” Marinette’s jaw dropped. She spun back around in her chair to grip the table, mouth opening and closing without sound and barely managing to pay attention to his next words. “I’m calling to let you know that we will have to shorten our time with you to half an hour. Of course, our agency has many other models that can fill in the timeslot, but Anthony will be unavailable after that time.”

“Excuse me, M. Remond,” Marinette said as sweetly as she could, a stiff smile creeping onto her face and stretching her hand out to look at her pastel pink nails. “I’d like to check that I heard correctly. Anthony receieved another offer to model”-- she slapped her hand down onto the desk, standing up in the same motion, glaring as hard as she could at the wall “--and you decided to take it over your  _ already scheduled photoshoot _ with  _ the first person Anthony ever modelled for _ .”

On the other end, M. Remond was silent.

“Did I hear that correctly?” Her voice was still saccharine-sweet. Her face was still smiling.

Marinette was  _ boiling _ with fury.

“Yes, you did,” M. Remond finally replied, sounding uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. “Well, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, I understand that you are a little angry--”

“--Oh yes, just a  _ little _ \--”

“--but this other offer is for an established brand. Both of us recognize your talent, but I have to look out for Anthony’s best interest, and at the moment he will get more out of modelling for them over a college portfolio.”

* * *

 

“And now I don’t have a model for my  _ final project _ what am I going to  _ do _ ,” she wailed, rolling over on her bed to hug her cat pillow.

“Wait, wait, wait, girl, why didn’t you just get another model from Remond?” Alya said, raising her eyebrows in the camera.

“I only managed to book Anthony the first time because he was still new to the scene! And last year I managed to M. Remond down from their new price because I was really the one that brought Anthony attention at all. Their models are pretty high up in the industry and they’re all  _ way _ out of budget, and I already called in favors for makeup and hair.”

“Did you give him your puppy eyes the first time?” Alya teased. “Still, I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone in time. Didn’t he offer you, like, some sort of discount ‘cause they bailed on you? I mean, that’s only fair.”

“Well, I may have, sort of…” Marinette glanced away, putting on her best innocent face. “...yelled at him for being unprofessional and then told him I’d never, ever use his agency again for models right after that?”

“Oh my god!”

“I know.”

“ _ Girl _ ! I can’t believe you did that,” Alya half laughed, half shouted. “Do you know any other models that can do it for you? How long do you need, anyways?”

“It’s just two hours, but it’s so short notice,” she said. “I bet that’s the only reason Anthony got the offer now. I asked for them in  _ February _ .” Marinette sighed, burying her head in her cat pillow. “I’m going to  _ fail _ my final project,” she moaned. “It’s hopeless. I don’t even know any other reputable agencies.”

“Hey, but you know who’s incredibly attractive and also free Wednesday?” Alya leaned into the camera, a satisfied smirk on her face. Marinette looked back at her lifelessly, pouting.

“I need a guy to model, but thanks for the offer,” she said half-heartedly. “It wouldn’t fit you anyways. I sized everything for someone with a longer torso than you.”

“Not me!” Alya said impatiently. “I meant  _ Adrien _ .”

“Adrien?”

“Yes,  _ Adrien _ .”

“A- _ Adrien _ ?” Marinette shrieked, rocketing up in bed and staring at her phone. “Oh my god  _ no _ I couldn’t ask Adrien to do it that would be a disaster!”

“But he’s perfect!” Alya threw up her hands. “Come on, I don’t know what’s up with you two but you have to realize he’s  _ perfect _ for this! Adrien has, what, ten years of modelling under his belt? And I bet he’d do it as a favor for you, so you’d be able to use some of that model money on other stuff. Like actual  _ food _ .”

“But he hasn’t been modelling in years,” Marinette said weakly. She sunk back onto her pillows, head falling back. She didn’t even have a good argument as to why she didn’t want to have him model for her.

“Seriously, girl?” Alya frowned at her. “Look, even if you guys are having trouble he’d do it for you, you know? We’ve been friends since collège and he wouldn’t let whatever it is get between one of his best friends.” Marinette started picking at her pastel pink nail polish, avoiding Alya’s gaze.

One of his best friends. Since collège. Marinette was feeling guiltier and guiltier by the moment. Maybe it wouldn’t have been like this if they just talked properly...

“Marinette, hello?” Alya waved a hand over the camera. “Listen, I’m going to tell him about the modelling thing, okay? I’ll make sure he texts you for the details! Gotta go now, bye!” Immediately, the video call ended, and Marinette blinked.

“She said she was going to tell Adrien about the shoot,” Tikki said helpfully, flying up to settle next to her hand from her spot on the headboard.

“She’s going to tell Adrien?” she said blankly. “Wait! She’s going to  _ tell Adrien _ ?!” Her fingers scrambled to open the Alya’s message thread.

**(Marinette D-C)**

**_DONT SNED IT ILL FIGREU IT OTU_ **

**_DONT_ **

**_DONT_ **

**_DONT_ **

**_DONT_ **

**(#1 bestie)**

**_lol too late_ **

**_love u too_ **

“Oh no,” Marinette said. Tikki glided up to touch her cheek.

“It won’t be so bad,” she reassured, nuzzling Marinette’s face. “You can talk to him about what happened yesterday, too. It’s just Adrien.”

“I think it’ll be a  _ disaster _ .”

* * *

 

**( <3 Adrien <3)**

**_Hey, heard u needed some help from me?_ **

“ _ Tikki, what do I say _ ?” Marinette whispered frantically, eyes wide at the screen. “Oh my god he still has hearts by his name why did I put hearts on his name--”

“Calm down!” Tikki swatted her hand lightly. “Don’t think about last week right now. He’s just trying to be a good friend and help you out.” She took the phone into her tiny hands and typed out something Marinette couldn’t see. “There!”

“What did you do?” Marinette said, leaning over to look at the screen.

**(Marinette D-C)**

**_Yeah, it’s for my final project._ **

**_Do you have time on Wednesday at three?_ **

“I sent a message for you,” Tikki said cheerily with a smile. “You can solve your problem just like this!”

“Are you sure this doesn’t just make more problems?” Marinette said, barely restraining a grimace and flinching unwillingly when Adrien started typing.

**(Adrien)**

**_For ur final?_ **

**_I dont know anything about sewing lol_ **

**_I mean i can try but i dont think it would turn out that well_ **

“I took out the hearts for you, too,” Tikki added in a way that would be smug if she was anyone else. Marinette ignored her in favor of pushing the phone onto the other side of her bed with her toe, curling into a ball.

“Thanks,” she said, scooting back so she was on her pillows and her back was against the wall, “but I think I’d rather not.”

“Marinette!” Tikki frowned at her, looking about as intimidating as a hamster. “If you don’t do well on this project, everything you worked for will be wasted! And you still won’t be able to talk to Adrien properly.” She went to haul the phone back to Marinette.

“Noooo.” Marinette shrank away from the phone, still open to Adrien’s message thread. Tikki held it in front of her face, encouraging her with her big eyes.

“If you don’t take it, I’ll drop it,” Tikki offered. Marinette shook her head.

Tikki dropped it.

“Ouch! That hit my finger!”

“It wouldn’t have hit you if you just texted Adrien.” Tikki hovered over the phone again, looking at her Ladybug expectantly. Marinette snatched it from the bedsheets, clutching it to her chest.

“Okay, fine, I’ll do it!”

**(Marinette D-C)**

**_Jko_ **

**(Adrien)**

**_What_ **

**(Marinette D-C)**

**_I didn’t mean to send that sorry!!!!_ **

**_It’s not for sewing though don’t worry_ **

**_Wait what did Alya tell you_ **

**(Adrien)**

**_Oh ok_ **

**_She just said u needed help_ **

**_Is everything good?_ **

**(Marinette D-C)**

**_Yes definitely!_ **

**(Adrien)**

**_...Are u sure_ **

**_If i can help i will_ **

**_Dont worry about anything ok?_ **

**_She said it was something u couldnt do by urself_ **

**(Marinette D-C)**

**_I can figure it out_ **

**(Adrien)**

**_Im going to call_ **

**_Give me a sec_ **

“Tikki, help!” Marinette dropped her phone again, narrowly missing Tikki’s head. “I can’t talk to him after what I did on Thursday!” Her ringtone started to play, but she ignored it, flailing her arms.

“You can do it, Marinette!” Tikki cheered. “He’s not mad at you anyways! And the best thing to do is communicate.”

Marinette’s finger hovered over the answer button. She hesitated, looking at Tikki, who smiled at her, leaning forward.

“H-hello?” she said, pressing down the button.

“Hey, Marinette!” Adrien’s cheerful voice replied. “How are you doing?”

She couldn’t stop herself from analyzing his voice. Was it the same kind of cheerful that she’d always thought it was, or was she just oblivious the tones that she’d always recognized with her partner?

“Um-- fine! I’m fine!” she said belatedly, clearing her throat.

“So what’s up with your project?” He seemed calm as ever, as though nothing had ever happened between them.

“Well…” Adrien  _ would _ be a good option for a model, even if he hadn’t been modeling for a while now. He was still fit as ever and she knew his measurements were similar to Anthony’s based on what they’d been before he stopped modelling. And this project was worth a  _ lot _ .  “I mean, if it’s not too much trouble…”

* * *

 

“Are we just supposed to ignore knowing each others’ identities?” He heaved a sigh, leaning back in his seat to stare at the ceiling of the car and stretching. Plagg sat idly on the steering wheel, bright green eyes glowing back at him.

“If you wanted to know, you should have brought it up,” Plagg said dismissively, taking another large bite of camembert. Adrien sat up properly, frowning.

“Ladybug always takes the lead, though.”

“ _ If you wanted to know, you should have brought it up _ .” Plagg threw the rest of his cheese up into the air, catching it in his mouth and swallowing noisily. “Why do I always get the stupid ones?”

Adrien opened his mouth to protest, but in the window he noticed a dark haired figure crossing the street.

“Wonderful, your  _ girlfriend _ is here,” Plagg snarked, slumping and floating off the wheel to dive into Adrien’s bag.

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Adrien felt his face start burning. Plagg had joked about Marinette being his girlfriend since they first met, but knowing she was Ladybug made his heart skip a beat when he thought about Marinette as his girlfriend. He opened the car door with a little extra force, slinging his bag onto his shoulder and flicking his hair out of his face.

“Are you seriously blushing now? Is it just because you know she’s Ladybug?”

“It’s not!” Adrien hissed as covertly as he could in response. A couple stared at him before quickly turning away from him when they noticed his gaze, speeding up as he walked past and lowering their faces.

Great. Marinette and Ladybug were both mad at him and he didn’t know how to solve it and now the world thought he was crazy, too.

“Marinette!” he called, speed-walking to catch up with the designer. She turned around, smiling awkward when she caught sight of him.

“H-hi,” she said, grinning widely but without any expression in her eyes. Her hand tightened on her bag and she tried to brush a lock of hair behind her ear, but her hair was too neatly arranged and without any flyaways.

“So what am I going to be wearing today?” He leaned in to look at the garment bag she was holding with a casual smile, doing his best to make the atmosphere relaxed, but she pulled it closer to herself.

“You’ll find out,” she said, her manic smile softening into a more natural, amused quirk of her lips. “Juleka’s going to come help with the makeup and I asked one of my classmates to take pictures. It won’t be a super professional thing, I mean, but…”

“That sounds great,” Adrien said, standing straight and putting his hands into his pockets. “Hey, uh, about what happened last Thursday--”

“Oh, look, it’s Juleka!” Marinette said loudly, pointing across the park at a woman dressed in all black. “We shouldn’t keep her waiting!”

* * *

 

The photoshoot was even easier than Adrien had expected. Marinette had to make a few adjustments to the outfits, but the same thing had happened for runway modelling and they fit surprisingly well to begin with.

“Marinette, I think it’s going to rain,” Juleka said, looking up at the darkening skies. Elle, Marinette’s classmate, lowered her camera, glancing up at the grey clouds.

“I think you’ll have enough pictures,” Elle said, turning away from Adrien and towards Marinette. “I’ve gotten a good amount for each outfit and you can take your pick later.”

“Thanks so much, Elle,” Marinette said, beaming and rushing to help her put away the things they’d used for the shoot. “Juleka, thanks for doing makeup for me!”

“Anytime,” Elle said, tucking her camera into its bag and slinging it over her shoulder. “I have to go now, though, I don’t have an umbrella and I live kinda far. I can’t believe it’s already time for the first rain of the year! Anwyays, I’ll see you in class!” Marinette waved back at her as she left.

“I’m meeting up with Rose soon,” Juleka added quietly. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Bye, Juleka,” Adrien and Marinette said at the same time. They stood quietly for a moment, then Marinette spoke.

“Can you take off your suit and put it back in the garment bag? I’m going to leave soon, too.”

“Sure. I’ll be back soon.”

Adrien changed quickly, feeling awkward about leaving Marinette outside. He didn’t have an umbrella, with him either, because Plagg had complained about the space it took up in his bag.

When he went back outside, Marinette was watching the children outside with a blank face and unfocused eyes.

“Hey, Marinette, where do you want me to put this stuff?” Adrien interrupted her thoughts, holding up the garment bag. The sky was getting even darked. Hopefully, he’d be able to get to his car before it started actually raining.

“You can just give it to me,” she said, avoiding his gaze. “I’m going to leave now, I don’t want to be caught in the rain.”

“I’ll walk you,” Adrien offered, keeping hold of the garment bag when she tried to take it. “Or I can take you home. I drove here.”

“It’s fine! I can walk,” Marinette smiled at him, but it looked more nervous than reassuring. “I just need to get home before it starts to rain.” She started to back away from him, still gripping the garment bag and trying to pry it slowly from his hands.

“I’ll walk with you then,” Adrien insisted, pulling the bag gently and taking a long stride to catch up with her. “It’s not a big deal. And we have some stuff to talk about anyways.”

Just as they stepped out of the awning, a drop of rain fell onto Adrien’s head. He resisted the urge to cringe away and dash to his car.

“It’s raining!” Marinette’s yelp of surprise was possibly the cutest thing he’d ever heard. “Oh no, I don’t have an umbrella…”

“Let me drive you home then,” Adrien said, trying to look like he was actually making a suggestion and not cornering her into a proper conversation.

“I can still walk,” she tried to argue, but followed after him hesitantly.

“Your work’s going to get wet, then,” Adrien said, turning around so he could face her and walking backwards. “It’s not even that much trouble. I can stop for pastries at your house anyways.”

The rain was still light, but the thunder in the distance told the two of them that it would turn into a heavy storm. Marinette pursed her lips.

“Thank you, Adrien,” she said. He quirked his lips at her, but without any real feeling.

The drive to the boulangerie was spent in total silence. Plagg had left his bag to sit on the dashboard, but Marinette avoided his acid green eyes and said nothing. Normally, Plagg would turn on the radio, but instead he spent the ride staring down the civilian Ladybug.

“I don’t get why Tikki would choose such a coward this time,” Plagg finally said when they were right in front of the boulangerie. Marinette flinched, but besides taking in a deep breath she did nothing.

“Plagg, stop it.” Adrien stopped the car, leaning back heavily and crossing his arms. He stared ahead, a hard look forming on his face. Marinette sighed next to him, and he heard her unbuckle her seat belt.

“Thanks for the ride,” she said softly, one hand on the door handle. He couldn’t help the exasperation when he turned to her, but she was already exiting the car.

“Marinette!” He swung the car door open, rushing to catch up with her on the other side where she was taking out the things she had brought to the shoot. “Look, you can’t just keep avoiding it.” He stepped closer to her, frowning more intensely. “I get that you didn’t want us to know about each other, but what’s done is done. We just have to move on.”

“How am I supposed to move on when my partner  _ hates _ me?” Her eyes were filling with tears, but he couldn’t tell if they had spilled out. The rain was heavy, and her hair flattened against her head. She clutched the garment bags closer to her chest, shoulders hunching. “Don’t tell me you don’t! How can you say that you don’t when you just  _ ran  _ when we both detransformed? And you didn’t say anything about it and you avoided me  _ the entire week _ \--”

“I don’t! I really don’t,” he said. He took a step closer to her, placing both hands on her shoulders. “It was just a surprise-- and god, you didn’t see your face, I thought you hated me--”

“How could I hate  _ you _ ?” She was smiling through her tears, but it was more of an attempt to look okay than it was actual happiness. He wrapped his arms around her, forehead resting on her shoulder. The rain was soaking him thoroughly, but he couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment.

Marinette’s face pressed closer to his chest, one hand snaking around to wrap around his body. They’d turned this into such an unnecessary mess.

“Let’s meet again. On Thursday, at the Eiffel Tower at ten,” Marinette said finally, voice muffled against his shirt. She drew back from him, tears gone and an honest smile on her face.

“I’ll see you then, my lady.”

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I was going to do another idea but this came to me when I was about halfway finished with my original fill. I wish I incorporated the rain a little better, so I'll probably come back and edit it, and maybe post my original idea sometime soon.
> 
> I'm pretty sure this was not what you were thinking of when you wrote your prompt, but I hope you enjoyed it anyways, Astrangetypeofchemistry!


End file.
